Sculpture: Koi Dragon in Marble

I went to a marble carving workshop with my friends, Carol & Christopher Webb and Craig & Tamara Tomlinson, in Marble (Colorado) in the Summer of 2012.  I had never carved marble before, but that didn't stop me from choosing a large block from the marble quarry to start my first endeavor.  I was going to make my Koi Dragon...

The guys from the workshop moved my block onto cut railroad ties, and I leveled the base so my sculpture would sit level.  I was primarily using diamond grinding saws at this point to do my work.

I had made a full sized sketch and many drawing in my notebook of how I wanted my dragon to look.  I keep refering to these throughout the work, to keep myself mindful of my design.

The going was slow and dusty.  Robert and I were staying at Carol and Christopher's cabin with them, and each night I would go home exhausted...  Both Carol and Christopher were working on their own sculptures too.  Note my earbuds hanging down:  I would listen to music as I would work away at my dragon.  Sometimes hours would go by, then someone would get me and say it was time to eat- or go home...

Finally standing up, I was able to begin work on forming the body...

Fully hooked up with mask, goggles, and earplugs, I would use the smaller diamond  grinder to work on more refined areas.